I. Field of the Invention
Manually operated brake mechanisms for impeding and preventing the turning of a castor wheel.
II. Description of Related Art Including Information disclosed Under 37 CFR Secs. 1.97 & 1.98
Brake mechanisms of various types have been provided in the past for impeding and locking castor wheels against rotation. For instance, when hoppers or carts of various configurations are provided with castors, it is desirable to prevent rotation of the castor wheels once the hopper or cart is placed in a desired location. Otherwise, there is the possibility that the hopper or cart will roll away from the desired location due to gravitational forces or due to being accidentally bumped.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,208 granted to Anthony C. Libhart and assigned to The Colson Company, a predecessor of the assignee of this application, reveals a castor brake having an operating member which engages a cam member having opposed oppositely inclined cam surfaces defined by side flanges when it is rotated to provide braking action. Rotation of the operating member in a first direction applies a pressure on the hub of the castor wheel to create a frictional force which impedes rotation of the wheel. Rotation of the operating member in the direction opposite the first releases the pressure on the hub to permit the castor wheel to turn freely.